Only Time Can Heal the Heart
by SilverMoonFlames
Summary: I only shook my head."But why...why would you just let yourself die -and hurt all the people who care about you- all the people who love you?" He looked around briefly to assure three seconds peace and replied. "Because...I love you." oneshot.


**Random oneshot i put under Naruto for no real reason...yeah!**

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Disclaimer: I do not own anything that has anything to do with Naruto, but Hamamaru Keets and Kukorai Maru are mine. I have special permission to use Yumei Mazaki.

Note: Before you read, know that this is based off of my original story Trinity Chronicles, using the same characters and settings, but I did _not_ directly exerpt it. I just made it up. It does not really happen in my fanime. But I hope it's sad enough...I really tried making a sob review if you like it,or if you don't. I really need feedback.

And to those who don't know...  
Hamamaru doesn't exist, Yumei is my rl bffl, and Kukorai is really undecided, since Yumei really isn't into boys. I am Usagi. I don't have the slightest idea why I didn't do this in first person, but I just didn't.

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Usagi strolled through the Serenity grounds. It was a damp, dreery day, but that suited her fine. She liked dark colors better than bright ones, anyway. Not that she was goth or punk or anything...just different.

The sky seemed sad that day...that unfortunate day...grey layers of clouds suffocated the sky. The flowers hibernated their usual beauty, and even the kind people of Serenity were a lot slower and down-beat, not that you could have told by looking. It seemed everyone was lazing in their own houses this evening...or the remainder of it...it was also nearly night time, yet it had looked dusk all that day.

Usagi was fixing to head a corner when a figure caught her eye. It was Yumei!

Yumei and Usagi had met in an academy while dorming for a long test select ninjas in the area had to take. By lovely chance, they were put on the same team, Team Trinity, along with Hamamaru Keets and Kukorai Maru. They had been the best of friends since, and held proud title of never having an argument.

Yumei grinned wildly when Usagi spotted her. The older Etara girl waved enthusiastically as Yumei dashed over. They took the corner together and kept going into the homemade path in the Salem Woods. Usagi rested both hands behind her head and took in the glorious view of the wood at dusk, even with the overhead cluster of clouds.

Yumei suddenly looked down thoughtfully. Usagi knew that look.

"What? What's wrong?"

"I-...I don't know...I just had this weird feeling...that..."

She suddenly sank to her knees, rubbing her temples furiously. Usagi also knew that gesture...she had seen it only once...but remembered all too well what it had meant.

"Ah! My head...Usagi...images..."she kind of swayed,as if struggling to keep conscious...

Yes...Usagi had seen this before...it had happened when...death was near...sudden, horrible death...the only good thing about it was Yumei sensed it -involuntarily- before hand. If she managed to keep conscious she could see the event in an array of mental images...who...where...how...but not when...

"Usagi...," she closed her eyes painfully. Migraines always escorted the sense. "...Usagi...I see...Hamamaru...and you...in the Salem...Salem Wood...you're talking..." she paused and struggled to see the rest. "And...he's gasping...and...and..."

Usagi was gasping now...Hamamaru was hers and Yumei's other team member...and best friend...in fact...he was Usagi's boyfriend...her love...Who died? Not him...oh, please, God, not him...

"Yumei...are you okay? Come on, please, I need to know!"

After another slight pause, Yumei did a struggled gasp and continued. "Usagi...I'm...sorry..."

She fell unconscious. A single tear slid down her nose. Usagi knew why. This same thing had happened the time before...she had lost it before telling the whole story...causing them to lose someone beloved...but now it was different...being her best friend, she knew how important 'Maru was to her...how close they had become...and she felt it her duty to save him...or to at least help Usagi to save him...but she had done what she could.

She put her jacket around Yumei and quickly carried her under a tree out of way of traffic. She'd understand why she had left her.

Then she raced deeper into the trees. Tears glistened in her silver flame eyes as she tore to the place she knew Maru'd be. He was always here. He spent endless hours there...in the heart of Salem...the Golden Clearing.

Usagi skimmed across tree branches, despite her fear of heights, desperate to reach Maru for...who knows what.

Salem was a very big, complicated forest. It would take days for one to walk to the heart of it, but for a ninja, and a ninja in distress, minutes.

She crashed through a tree wall and found Hamamaru laying lazily against a high oak branch opposite her. She was at his side in a second and was shaking him.

"Maru! Maru,get up!"

He awoke protestantly, but relaxed when he saw her face.

"Hey, Usagi, what's up?"

"Um...?" alarm melted from her face when she saw his...the only medicine for her nerves.

"What's wrong? You looked worried."

The perfection in his voice made her throat swell up again, what it always did when she was fixing to cry.

"Maru...um...Y-...Yumei is uh...asleep...somewhere...I..was wonderng if you could help me...w-wake her up?"

He looked at her studiously, knowing the cause of her grief was not a sleeping Yumei, but stood up anyway and stretched.

"Okay...where is she?"

"Th-the..." what was Yumei talking about? Maru was fine...right?..."The edge of...the wood."

"You came all this way just to tell me...to help you...wake up Yumei?" he said incredilously.

"Uh..." Usagi sighed frustratedly and threw up her hands to let them fall back down. "No..." she almost groaned. "She had another one of those episodes where-"

Suddenly Hamamaru's gaze flickered to somewhere behind Usagi. Before she could turn around to see what he had spotted, his jaw dropped and his eyes looked deeper than usual...like a giant light blue pit that Usagi would have much more willingly have been swallowed up into than...what happened next...

She didn't even have time to ask. Maru grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her off the oak branch. Usagi watched petrified as he clutched her...they both fell...sank...floated...to the ground...Maru first...and hit hard...winding them both...

She could hardly believe it when she saw a demolished oak above was next to her. He looked like he was in pain...Upon further examination, she saw he had a gash on his back from the explosion. Explosion? She got up and helped Maru into her arms.

"Maru!" she almost whispered. She didn't know why she felt she had to be quiet. "Maru!"

His eyes opened sadly, then he smiled, glad she was all right.

"Maru, what was-"

Then a ribbon was flung at their feet. She had time enough to look up and see the musical band on someone's head...then she and Maru were racing away. Usagi saw a gap under a tree where roots should have been and made a dual person dive for it. But the sound village attackers wouldn't have it. Soon they were firing more bombs. Maru pushed -or rather swayed- away from Usagi and scraped at the dirt walls, then heaved himself up.

"Maru! NO! They'll kill you!"

"That's what they want...they want me dead..." was all he mumbled in reply.

"Wh-..._what_?" she said incredilously, not believing what she heard.

"They want to kill me," he repeated,turning to her. "And I'm _not_ letting them have you, too. You have nothing to do with this."

She also jumped out of the ditch and grabbed his tan shirt. "No, Hamamaru Keets, I'm not letting you go!"

He only turned sadly around and looked into her eyes.

"I have to...I can't let you die just because they have something against my family..."

"But why...why would you just let yourself die and hurt all the people who care about you? All the people who love you!"

He looked around briefly to assure three seconds peace and replied.

"Because...I love you."

Although she was stunned at the words -yes, she had always known his love for her, but never had the words passed his lips- she only shook her head.

"Love doesn't leave, Maru...please don't hurt me like this..."

He took her wrists and leaned in. _No..._she thought. _If he wants to leave me...he can't have me...no, I can't let him hurt me again!_

But it was too late. She was lip-locked with the one boy that had ever shown her affection...love...she returned the gesture, tears streaming down her face.

Then he tore away and let out a battle cry to the attackers. Usagi reached out helplessly..._no..._

She raced after him desperately, ready to fell all that wanted to harm him...her one true love...and the tears still rolled in...Hamamaru apprehended one of the sound village ninjas and slammed his fists to his head, felling him. He turned to face another, only this one had a sword...Usagi screamed out in horror as she made her way to him and his struggle to keep distance from the blade.

"No, Usagi, go!" he cried to her, trembling from the force of holding back the attacker, who had a wicked smirk planted on his dark, ugly face.

"Hamamaru!" she screamed again, taking out a kunai and slashing at the man's back, who turned on her and held the blade to her throat. Tears squeezed out of her silver orbs as she rued her action so terribly.

"Don't take one more step, little man, or your little girlfriend gets a nice blood bath!" he spat, tightening his hold on the sword. She gagged as he pierced a layer of her skin, a trickle of red fluid running down her neck.

"Usagi! Let her go, she has nothing to do with this!"

"You come with us peacefully or she'll have everything to do with this!"

He clenched his fists and hung his head.

"I'm sorry, Usagi..." he mumbled. She let out a protestant shriek before she was thrown to the ground, leaving her clutching her throat.

"Hamamaru! Please, DON'T!" she cried again, struggling to get up. Two ninjas stepped up and grabbed Maru by his forearms, and another went up in front of him and punched him in the gut.

"HAMAMARU!" she dashed up and around the blade-wielder and tackled the man who had hit him, biting his arm and clawing his face. Maru kept struggling to release the men of his arms, but they held tight as the man with the blade grabbed her by her hair and thrust her into a nearby ditch. The last thing she remembered before rolling into the hole was the terrified glint of silver in his eyes, and the sorrowful look he managed to give her...

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Usagi sat on her bed crying like there was no tomorrow...which there wasn't for her...holding his picture as if she could bring him back to her...

"My love..." she had kept sobbing over and over. "My dear Maru...oh, why have you left me?" She slammed a fist into the wall...again...in fact, it now had a hole in it...Yumei walked in without bothering to knock.

"Usagi...Usagi, it's been days...the funeral's in ten minutes...you have to go...he'd want you to."

"No..."

"Usagi-"

"NO! You don't understand...our love is torn...and now he's dead and it's all my fault...if I hadn't have been there I wouldn't have gotten in the way...oh, my love...the bridge of our love has been broken...and..." more suffocating sobs. "And now...I just can't go on..." she fell in Yumei's arms, who could only wish she understood her pain, having never really liked boys...

"Yumei...when I die...promise me you'll have me buried with him..." she sad softly. Being a year and a half older, she assumed she'd "go" first.

"Only if you go to his funeral."

"...Okay..." she reluctantly agreed. The only reason she didn't want to see him one last time was because she, being the only girl he had ever obsessed so lovingly over, would probably be pitied by everyone else, who would hold title to being so close to him,and whatnot...like she knew they would do...but if Yumei thought she should go...she would...for her...and for him...

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After everyone was gone, Usagi knelt by his tomb...it had a big heart on it, with both their names on it...entertwined in a flurry of etched rose petals. She inhaled painfully and sobbed harder than ever.

"My love...I...miss you so much...why did you have to be such a hero?...I love you, too...I've loved you since I first layed eyes on you...and...life just isn't the same without your smile..." she shook her head. She just couldn't put words to her feelings...her empty...aching feelings...

"I hope you're happier where you are now...I hope you can hear me..."

"He can hear you..." a voice from behind her said gently.

She started, but just shook her head again, for no real reason.

"K-Kukorai...I miss him..._so_ much..." she whispered. He stepped forward and put a hand supportively on her back. Kukorai had known Hamamaru ever since they were kids. They were like brothers. She turned and and got up and wept into his shoulder.

"I know you do...and I do, too...but I also know he loved you, and he did that for you so you could. He wouldn't want you to spend the rest of your life alone and sad. I think enough is enough. You had your cry, now live on in his memories. Only time can truly heal these wounds...now, live life for him...he's never dead unless you admit to yourself that he is."

She stepped back and stood for a while to let that to soak in...then looked back up to Kukorai with humbler eyes.

"I know you're right, Kuko...and thank you...I'll try..." she sniffled again to keep from breaking down. "I will. I'll live life like he would have wanted me to...and I'll never forget him...never...never..."

She stood up and let the dahlia blossoms flit from her hand. "Don't forget me wherever you are now...I love you, Hamamaru..." she took one more look at the grave and let Kukorai walk her home. A light breeze brushed her hair and another tear entered her eye. _He loved me enough to die for me...'Because...I love you...'...Good-bye, my love..._

**Please review and tell me what you thought! **


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